Ellery Queen, both the fictional detective and the pseudonymous writer of the series has been one of the most successful American detective series, and going beyond the books and magazines, has been repeatedly adapted for radio, movies, and television. Because the character was created before World War II and continued into the 1960s, adaptations had to settle on one time period, with varying degrees of success. In most versions, the title character lacked any distinguishing traits, and was simply a generic detective.

These episodes are from the 1975 television series which starred Jim Hutton and David Wayne. Mr. Hutton's version of Ellery is a bit forgetful, a notoriously poor driver, and perhaps too inept to be fully faithful to the books, but the two principals have a great deal of charm, and the costumes and setting were excellent., reflecting the immediate post WW II period. The episodes were marked by having Ellery address the audience and challenge the viewer to identify the killer.